


shut up and dance with me

by kinneret



Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Ballroom Dancing, Cullen is basically a dumb scarred puppy and I love him okay, Dorian is Trevelyan's BFF, Elinor Trevelyan is an impulsive mess (probably an Aries), Elinor Trevelyan is not here for your shit, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Implied Iron Bull/Dorian Pavus, Josephine loves us but also wants to pitch us into the sea, Leliana is très amusé, Minor Handwaving of Timeline/Plot, Mutual Pining, The Winter Palace is a torture chamber, mostly canon-compliant, oblivious dorks, still on my lowercase bullshit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-11
Updated: 2019-01-11
Packaged: 2019-10-08 04:11:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,045
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17379296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kinneret/pseuds/kinneret
Summary: elinor trevelyan has spent her whole life behaving "as befits a lady" and josephine has recounted the expectations for behavior more times than she can count—so of course she puts herself in the center of a scandal with her commander by rescuing him from his admirers.(aka the fake dating au where cullen hates attention, elinor has a savior complex, and josephine is so done with both of them)





	shut up and dance with me

**Author's Note:**

> Takes place during the “Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts” quest, with a little fudging of timelines so that they have not yet kissed on the battlements but he has told her he’s stopped taking lyrium.
> 
> Also, I wrote this all in lowercase because that’s my current aesthetic and I do not describe the Inquisitor on purpose because Elinor is not my “canon” Inquisitor—she’s the one I write when I want fic that doesn’t work with my canon, which is apparently a thing I do now.
> 
> Title from Walk the Moon's song of the same name.

“you know this isn’t something we did on purpose, right?” elinor trevelyan finds herself telling her councilors for what seems like the thirtieth time in the past ten minutes. 

“it’s my fault if anyone’s,” leliana adds. “this is what happens when i don’t pay attention to what you two are getting up to." 

josephine sighs, sharing an exhausted glance with cassandra, and then turns to elinor and cullen. "will you recount the night's events? i need to consider how to address this tomorrow morning before we depart." 

elinor and cullen share a long look, much to dorian and varric and the iron bull’s amusement, and elinor nods and begins the tale.

***

the first hour at the ball is exactly what elinor expected it would be; she spends so much time exchanging pointless pleasantries, fielding innuendos, and smiling her most devious smile that the first opportunity to go snooping around the winter palace is a _godsend_. if someone calls her lady trevelyan one more time she’s probably going to scream—and that includes cullen, who has been fastidious about addressing her formally since they arrived, as if there were something terrible about the fact that they are on a first-name basis. they’ve been through some shit, thank you very much, so she can call him whatever the fuck she wants. 

when she returns to the ballroom after her first excursion, she makes a point of making eye contact with every member of her party she can find before walking back to the vestibule to talk to leliana and get direction for her next steps—and elinor busies herself investigating and networking in equal measure.

elinor’s on her third run back into the ballroom to make an appearance when she realizes that she hasn’t seen cullen in almost a half hour. as she makes her rounds, her eyes roam every corner of the ballroom to try and spot him. she misses the mantle, she realizes after a few minutes, because it would make it so much easier to find him—but then she spots his blonde curls, disheveled due to his nervous habit of pushing it back. she straightens her back and glides gracefully across the room— _mother would be proud_ , she thinks—and makes her way through the throng of people around cullen. 

she’s still several feet away from him when she realizes that he is surrounded by admirers, and the blush on his cheekbones and discomfort radiating from every bone in his body makes it clear that he’s realized it as well. elinor clears her throat and flashes some smiles to get through the crowd, and cullen is so relieved to see her that he begins reaching out for her, pulling back as soon as he realizes it—a new habit, elinor’s noted—but this time she doesn’t let him. instead, she takes the hand he has extended towards her and uses it to pull him to her so she can step into his embrace. 

"sorry for disappearing for so long, my dear,” she murmurs, batting her eyelashes. “but now that i’ve returned, i was hoping you would dance with me.”

to his credit, cullen only stares at her with wide eyes for a brief instant, and then he’s inclining his head and tightening his arm around her. “it would be my pleasure." 

the small crowd parts for them, buzzing like bees—but the buzzing becomes deafening silence as cullen and elinor step onto the dance floor.

cullen’s amber eyes dart around the room as she steps into his arms, and elinor can feel him tremble lightly. "lady trevelyan, perhaps…”

“ _elinor_ ,” she reminds him a little forcefully, “and it’s too late now, cullen—we’ve got to dance." 

he nods and leads her smoothly enough, if a bit tentatively, into the first steps of a dance. as they begin to find their rhythm, cullen smiles softly, his hand tightening around hers. "thank you for rescuing me, elinor.”

 _i did it for myself too_ , she thinks, but she just smiles at him. “always glad to be of service, commander.”

he smirks, twirling her out of his embrace and then back into it, and his smirk widens as the silence ends abruptly and the chatter in the ballroom returns to a dull roar. “we’re going to hear about this, you know."

"i’m certain,” she replies quietly, her eyes searching his face. “but even if it ends up being not a brilliant idea by orlesian standards, i’m… glad that we got this chance." 

"me too,” he replies immediately, his voice low and warm and honeyed. elinor shivers, involuntarily taking a step closer to him, and it is not until he’s dipping her gently that she realizes that their dance has concluded. cullen offers her his arm and leads her out into one of the balconies and, as soon as they have walked past the curtains, they both take deep breaths. 

“this will only be a temporary reprieve, you know,” elinor says after a moment, letting go of his arm and walking over to lean on the balcony railing. “as soon as we go back inside, they’re going to start asking you about me and about the dance and it might… it might make everything worse. i’m sorry. i wasn’t really thinking." 

cullen scratches at the back of his neck, sighing, then leans into the railing just beside her. "if the price for them to stop propositioning me is that i have to spend the rest of the ball speaking of you, then… that’s more than a fair trade." 

elinor laughs, turning to face him—and then they’re too close and all she can see is his mouth and she feels light-headed all of a sudden. 

"we should get back to work,” he says after a moment, turning away from her, and elinor takes a deep breath before grabbing the proffered hand and stepping back into the ballroom. 

***

less than an hour later, cullen finds her in one of the hallways, looking frazzled. “we need a story.” elinor blinks at him for a moment, unsure, and cullen sighs. “they keep asking for the love story and i keep demurring, telling them it’s our private business, but… it will keep them distracted, i hope." 

elinor feels her cheeks warm—and smiles as a blush covers cullen’s own cheekbones. "right, yes, our love story,” she begins. “is it a recent thing, or have we been keeping it quiet for a while?" 

"for a while,” he says immediately. elinor raises an eyebrow, and cullen shifts his weight from foot to foot, avoiding her gaze. “they’ll be less likely to try and sway me away if it seems more… established." 

she nods. "a while, then. let’s say… we talked about it after haven? since we’d come close to losing one another and did not want to leave things unsaid any longer?" 

cullen’s eyes widen and the flush adorning his face deepens, extending into his neck. "that… yes. makes sense. excellent." 

"anything else about our relationship we should discuss?” she asks after a moment, her gaze fixed on the freckles she’s found dusted across his nose.

“no, that… that’s perfect.” he sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. “maker, how i hate these things." 

elinor chuckles, reaching out to squeeze his shoulder. "help me save orlais so we can go home?”

“absolutely,” he replies immediately, reaching out to brush a lock of hair from her forehead. his hand lingers from an extra moment, making elinor exhale shakily, and then he’s inclining his head and turning away.

 _what the hell have i gotten myself into?_ she asks herself, shivering, and then she forces herself to return to the ballroom for her next round.

***

the rest of the night is, to be quite frank, a comedy of errors. sure, elinor saves the empress and exposes a conspiracy and saves orlais from chaos… but she actually spends a lot more time fielding comments and questions about cullen. he is immensely popular with the orlesians, for some reason— _you know why_ , her traitorous brain accuses—and they are all completely fascinated by the idea of the inquisitor and her commander. by the time it is all said and done, elinor is so exhausted that she barely manages to make it out to a balcony before bursting into frustrated tears, trembling against the railing. 

she hears footsteps behind her and she is about to whirl around and scream when she hears cullen’s quiet voice.

“elinor, are you alright?" 

she shakes her head, trembling, and cullen rushes to her side. he rests a hand on her lower back and cups her face with the other, turning her face so he can examine her gaze. "what do you need?” he asks gently. “what can i do?”

“nothing, i… i’m sorry,” she says, leaning into his touch. “i’m just… so exhausted and i’ve… lost it. i’ll be well soon enough." 

cullen pulls her closer and shifts them both slightly so that he can shield her from view of the ballroom. "it’s quite alright, you know,” he whispers. “it’s been nonstop madness since you came out of the fade. you’re allowed to lose it. maker knows you’ve seen me in worse states. and, silly as it is, i worried for you tonight—even though i know you are a storybook heroine who will save the day and be just fine." 

she chuckles shakily, smiling up at him—and then she closes the distance between them and embraces him. his arms encircle her immediately, one of his hands moving to stroke her hair gently, and elinor trembles and buries her face in his shoulder. "thank you,” she says after a long moment, taking a step back. “i can’t imagine doing any of this without you." 

cullen smiles, bowing exaggeratedly. "at your service, my lady.”

she laughs, tucking stray locks of hair behind her ears, and then grins up at him. “my valiant knight." 

he inclines his head, a soft smile still on his face, and then extends a hand. "may i have one more dance, lady elinor, while we still have time?" 

"i’d love that,” she replies, placing her small, gloved hand in his, and the smile remains on her face as they spin around one another on the balcony. 

*** 

elinor ends up walking back to their temporary quarters—as insisted by empress celene—with cullen by her side, their walk punctuated by a companionable silence that does nothing to calm her racing heart. as she opens the door to her own room, she is startled to find the rest of their company awaiting them, and so she ends up telling them the story of her daring rescue of cullen from a gaggle of orlesian nobles. 

“i couldn’t make this up,” varric declares when her tale is finished. “but good on you for rescuing curly tonight." 

"a regular savior,” leliana says with a smirk. 

josephine shoots leliana a look and sighs. “this is an absolute disaster." 

"and we will have to sort it in the morning,” dorian says after a moment. when all eyes turn to him, he sighs dramatically. “we are exhausted, it’s been a long night, and i need my beauty sleep. we can do whatever yelling we need to do in the morning." 

"maybe curly should stay in here to keep the tongues wagging,” varric adds, and elinor is certain her face matches the bright red of her uniform. josephine sputters off to the right, looking absolutely scandalized, and bull and dorian laugh in perfect sync. 

it is, of course, cassandra who restores order. “enough. everyone out. we will meet here in the morning.” she nods at elinor gently enough, but her face remains impassive. “good night, inquisitor." 

"good night,” she echoes, watching them begin to file out. cullen hovers for a moment before squeezing her shoulder—and then walks out wordlessly. she is about to start undressing when dorian clears her throat, bringing his presence to her attention, and elinor sighs. “what is it, darling? out with it.”

“did it occur to you, dear cousin, that you were not saving cullen simply because you are altruistic?" 

she tugs at the ribbons in her hair, releasing it, and shakes her head. "i’m sure i don’t know what you mean." 

"he means you were jealous because the orlesians want your templar,” bull clarifies from his spot by the door, making elinor jump. 

“cullen isn’t a templar anymore,” she replies automatically, and the smile on bull’s face makes it clear that she’s walked right through the door she opened. “oh, by andraste, you can’t be serious,” she mutters, tugging the buckles on her boots. 

dorian laughs. “as entertaining as the pining glances are, my dear, i think it is time for you and our dear commander to have a chat about your feelings." 

"i’m sure i don’t know what you’re talking about,” she says, stepping out of her boots, and she sighs. “look, it’s late and i’m tired and we all need our sleep." 

bull looks ready to protest, but dorian shakes his head before stepping up to elinor, resting a hand on her shoulder. "just think about it, elinor dear—you said it yourself in your love story, after all… we don’t have time to leave things unsaid." 

elinor stands there and considers the words long after dorian and bull have departed. 

***

 _i hate everyone and everything_ , elinor thinks to herself as she finally gets out of bed after hours of trying to fall asleep. she pulls a cloak over her nightgown and runs a hand through her hair, trying to tame it before she steps out into the hallway. she tiptoes down the hall until she comes to cullen’s door and knocks before she loses her nerve. 

the door swings open quickly—almost too quickly, she thinks—and he is as surprised to see her as she is surprised to find him shirtless. "elinor, is everything alright?" 

"i don’t know,” she says, her eyes fixed on the slope of his shoulders. “i just… can’t sleep." 

cullen takes a step back from the door, waving vaguely towards the interior of the room. "would you like to come in?" 

she nods, stepping past him, and she lets her eyes make a quick inventory of the room as he reaches for a shirt on top of a nearby chair. he hovers near her once he’s put on his shirt, and elinor examines his expression for a long moment before she decides to jump into the deep end. 

"cullen, i… perhaps you wondered how i had such a ready answer regarding the love story tonight." 

"i did,” he says softly. “but i did not want to… presume." 

elinor chuckles quietly. "presume away, cullen.” his eyes widen, and elinor takes a step closer to him. “the story came so easily to me because it’s not just a story… at least not to me. i did want to tell you after haven. hell, after redcliffe. but it just… never seemed like the right time." 

"we’re at war,” he murmurs. “i don’t know that… there _is_ a right time. definitely not now.”

“i know,” she whispers. “and yet… you were worried for me tonight and… it made me realize that you are often left behind, waiting… and if you care for me as i do you, then you are also left worrying. there might be a time where i don’t return, cullen—and, if indeed that is the case, i don’t want to leave anything unsaid.”

he reaches out to stroke her cheek with the back of his hand, and elinor closes her eyes and shivers at the touch. “neither do i." 

she forces herself to meet his gaze then, her eyes searching his. they both steps closer to each other, close enough to touch—and cullen bridges the distance by leaning down to kiss her, except he stops a hairsbreadth away. elinor has to smile—she knows what he is doing—and then she’s leaning in that last fraction of an inch and their lips are meeting and oh, there are lights going off behind her eyelids. one kiss turns into another into another into another, and his arms are tightening around her, and elinor is dizzy and bright-eyed by the time they part. 

"thank the maker,” he whispers. “i was so afraid that you wouldn’t…”

“how could i not?” she replies incredulously. 

“i’m not the man you deserve, elinor,” he tells her, his voice breaking, and elinor trembles and then surges forward to kiss every doubt away. 

“we can talk more later,” she says between kisses. “we have time. but i’m here and you’re here and i’m going to show you just who you are to me.” her mouth trails over his jaw and down his neck, and cullen’s hands curl into her cloak before he kisses her more insistently. elinor smiles into his mouth, tugs at his hair, and resolves to make him feel everything she is not yet ready to say. 

*** 

they walk back into her room at dawn, smiles sparkling and hands clasped, so they can wait for the rest of the councilors to join them. cullen sits by the window, his packed knapsack resting by his feet as he watches elinor change into her travel clothing and then gather her own things. when she’s finished, elinor steps up to him and offers her hand. 

“will you dance with me, even without music?" 

cullen laughs, taking her hand and using it to pull her against him. "any time, my lady. i’m yours." 

"and don’t you forget it,” she replies with a brilliant smile—and they are still dancing, starry-eyed, when the others begin filing into the room. 

no one comments on the dancing except for varric, who compliments their form, and elinor has never been more delighted by cullen’s blush and the warmth of his hand in hers. _the dances alone were worth it_ , she thinks to herself even as josephine yet again launches into her long speech about the importance of regaining and maintaining the court’s favor, and the rest has been a lovely bonus. 

she is not sure what things will be like for her and cullen as they move forward—but she hopes that there will be a lot more dancing.


End file.
